


The House That Built Me

by livxxmarie



Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: Boys Kissing, Fluff, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Rabbit Lightning - Freeform, sunrise, treehouse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-09
Updated: 2016-07-09
Packaged: 2018-07-22 11:51:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,139
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7437082
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/livxxmarie/pseuds/livxxmarie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Lohn looked past the dirt road and noticed the familiar markings on the trees. It all came flooding back to him and he relaxed immediately. His eyes glanced ahead, and though he couldn’t see the place in the dark, he knew there was a treehouse nestled in the wood not a mile from where they stood now."</p>
            </blockquote>





	The House That Built Me

**Author's Note:**

> This work is for the Six Weeks of Summer: Rhink Summer Ficathon 2k16 using the following prompt(s):  
> Sunrise  
> Car trouble  
> Make sure to check out the AO3 collection where you can find other works done by authors using the same prompts! Shoutout to all of those who have created this beautiful idea and plan, as well as to the mods that take care of and run both the tumblr and the AO3 collection! What a beautiful idea for such a long break away from Good Mythical Morning!

“It’s useless. We’re stuck here until mornin’.” Redd wiped the back of his hand across his sweaty brow. Lohn groaned audibly and kicked the dirt beneath his boot.

The show was perfect, all that either of them could’ve asked for, the small crowd rowdy and singing along to every word. It was refreshing to play such a small venue. It seemed like fame had crashed headfirst into them after the release of their second album, fans coming out of the woodwork and swarming like termites inside an old Louisiana house. The past six months had been a whirlwind, going from a few gigs a month in a dusty bar to a national tour and thousands of screaming fans. It was hard to get used to having so much available to them—Lohn especially, who had grown up with almost no money in his single mother’s trailer.

This night in particular was a special stop for the two. They had a few days off from their tour and had decided that they would drive the hours-long to visit their hometown in rural Georgia for a surprise show at the local bar. The audience was excitedly singing along and the lights in the bar felt a bit brighter to the boys as they stared at such familiar faces who had been supporting them for years.

“What the hell are we supposed to do now?” Lohn asked, taking off his cowboy hat to run his hand through his hair.

They had only been a half hour into the drive back to Atlanta until Redd’s truck had died beneath them. They considered calling one of the locals for help, but both were frustrated to see that not only was it 5:30 in the morning, but they both had lost cell signal.

“We should’ve just taken the tour bus,” Lohn said, his voice a bit louder as his frustration threatened to boil over.

“You were the one who wanted it to be more personal,” Redd said. Noticing the way Lohn’s blue eyes darkened with his temper, the blonde added, “Take it easy, bo. Don’t you recognize this place?”

Lohn looked past the dirt road and noticed the familiar markings on the trees. It all came flooding back to him and he relaxed immediately. His eyes glanced ahead, and though he couldn’t see the place in the dark, he knew there was a treehouse nestled in the wood not a mile from where they stood now.

“What are the odds…” He trailed off, taking a seat next in the bed of the truck. He looked at Redd expectedly, waiting for him to sit down as well.

“Why don’t we go find it?”

“Look whose bein’ the adventurous one. It’s a bit late, cowboy.”

“Are you too scared now, Lohn?”

The blue eyed man knew that he was being baited, his best friend aware of how he could not back down from a dare, but he gave in to his inner daredevil and jumped off the truck.

“Lohn Lightning ain’t afraid of nothin’.”

Redd sent a smile, a sight that used to be rare but was recently becoming a permanent feature of the man’s face. Lohn internalized the happiness he felt at his friend’s happiness, reminded of the little boy he grew up with for not the first time that night. He patted the blonde on the back excitedly and led the way into the forest, using the flashlight on his new iPhone.

“I can’t believe you know how to work that thing,” Redd commented on their walk, fishing his own phone out of his pocket.

“I can’t believe I own this thing.” Lohn laughed at the contraption in his hands and shook his head, the thrill of gratefulness at their new life filling his body with gleeful fuzziness. “I can’t believe we finally made it.”

“We deserve it.” Redd responded immediately, a newfound warmth in his tone of voice. “ _You_ deserve it.”

Lohn smiled his lopsided smirk at his friend. They used to argue frequently, back when the band first started up and their crave for fame and success clouded their judgments. It was when they truly started playing for the sake of the music when they found their harmony with each other. Ever since then, their bond had been growing stronger.

“There she is. Rhonda.” Redd’s voice threw Lohn back into the present and his eyes hit the poorly constructed

“Still can’t believe we named her that.”

“We? If I recall, _you_ were the one who named her after my aunt all ‘cause you thought she was a beauty.”

“She was,” Lohn laughed, raising his eyebrows at Redd. The taller of the two rolled his eyes.

Comfortable silence filled the air as the two walked inside the place, pleasantly surprised to see that it had remained almost untouched for the near decades it had been left alone. There were still the same dusty old country music magazines on the floor, and apart from a few animal droppings, it looked almost identical to how they last left it during their senior year of high school.

“I can’t believe this damn place is still standin’.” Lohn’s voice sounded louder as it bounced off the wooden walls.

They chatted casually about the memories made in the place, recalling some embarrassing moments and laughing about their awkward years. The two grew apart during middle school when Lohn’s mother went through a nasty divorce and Redd’s pop was thrown in jail again, but they reunited in high school and started using the treehouse up again.

“I reckon the sun’s ‘bout to start comin’ up sometime soon,” Redd commented, gesturing at the horizon.

“Let’s watch it. When’s the last time we stayed up until sunrise?”

“Had to have been high school. Probably in this exact location.”

“Prob’ly.”

The sky danced with oranges and pinks as the sun crested over the hills and Lohn was reminded of a simpler time, when each morning he was greeted with a kiss and each night he gave out much more. Redd had always followed him everywhere, and in this light, Lohn remembered a time when they nearly ran away to simply be together. Fear and reality drove them back away from each other, but the two never truly drifted apart. Here, in the safety of a treehouse that felt more like home than any other house, Lohn felt an arm wrap around his waist and pull him close. It had been years since they had allowed themselves the privilege of loving each other, too focused on their careers and what being together could do to their image.

“To never forgettin’ where we came from.”

Lohn sent a lopsided grin to Redd and kissed him, reliving the past and knowing there would always be a future.

“I couldn’t forget even if I tried, darlin’.”


End file.
